NEWS AND OPINION:
Monday will be noisy as more details on the Russia collusion probe emerge. But wait. “All Out War: The Plot to Destroy Trump” by veteran investigative journalist Edward Klein, also arrives Monday, making a detailed case that the notorious “deep state” is indeed up and running against President Trump and his administration.
“In America, you are entitled to your own opinion. But you are not entitled to overthrow the democratically elected president of the United States and inflict irreparable damage on our country. That, however, is what Donald Trump’s enemies on the Left and Right are doing. Through a variety of underhanded tactics — lies, leaks, obstruction, and violence — they are working to delegitimize President Trump and drive him from office before he can drain the swamp and take away their power,” writes Mr. Klein, former editor-in-chief of The New York Times Magazine.
This is his 14th book, following “Guilty As Sin” and “Unlikable: The Problem with Hillary” — one centered on Hillary Clinton‘s email woes, the other on her failed 2016 campaign. Now the author dwells upon Mr. Trump’s challenges, which appear to be unprecedented.
“With ferocity not seen since the Civil War, the Washington establishment and the radical Left are joining forces in an attempted coup d’tat to overturn the will of the people and return power to the political and media elites who have never been more unhinged,” says publisher Regnery Books, adding the new book reveals that “left-wing groups met with Al-Qaeda and ISIS to plot Trump’s destruction,” this according to an FBI investigation. Find the book here
GALLUP: HOLIDAY SPENDING BEST IN A DECADE
Is the proverbial “Trump bump” brightening the holidays as it has the economy and the stock market? Could be.
Americans plan to spend more on their holiday shopping than they have in an entire decade, according to a new Gallup poll finding that middle- and lower-income households are fueling the rise.
“Retailers could see the best holiday sales in years. The chief indicator is a sharp increase in the amount Americans say they plan to spend on Christmas gifts — now $906, up from $785 in October 2016. That represents one of the biggest year-over-year increases in Gallup’s trend, pushing the spending projection to its highest level in a decade,” writes analyst Lydia Saad.
“Although partisanship affects lots of attitudes these days, there is no difference between Republicans and Democrats in the year-over-year change in spending intentions,” she says.
“Numerous factors likely go into the delicate psychology that determines whether consumers feel comfortable draining their checking accounts or swelling their credit card balances to stuff the space under the tree with presents. In addition to their own personal financial situation, those could include national economic metrics such as stock market and unemployment reports, as well as policy actions out of Washington, particularly as it relates to the federal budget and taxes.”
GOOD ADVICE FROM OHIO
“Republicans and conservatives have grumbled about unfair coverage from the mainstream media for decades. But the Trump era has brought us to a new plateau, one where the media has moved from adversarial to oppositional. Many observers, on both right and left, have come to see the media as the leader of the resistance. If you care about journalism, it’s a disturbing trend,” advises Gary Abernathy, editor and publisher of the Times-Gazette, a newspaper in Hillsboro, Ohio, a town of about 6,000 some 30 miles east of Cincinnati.
“The concern is no longer just the violation of journalistic ethics. The real danger is that millions of Americans no longer view the news media as merely left-leaning but instead as an all-but-declared political movement. All that remains is to nominate a standard-bearer in the next election,” Mr. Abernathy writes in an op-ed for the paper.
“Trump and his administration deserve close scrutiny and an adversarial press. The media should keep reporting what they identify as his lies, his failures and his blunders, wherever the facts lead, in every instance. But there are other stories that are being ignored or buried, success stories that more accurately reflect the whole picture,” says Mr. Abernathy, who is calling for a reboot of the press,
“Reversing the path they’re on would require a significant internal overhaul by the nation’s leading media organizations. Doing so could help them regain their lost credibility and restore the majority of Americans’ faith in them as unbiased arbiters of truth and evenhanded watchdogs of government.”
GEORGE P. BUSH GUARDS THE ALAMO
The Bush family dynasty continues? George P. Bush, son of former presidential hopeful Jeb Bush, ran for and won the office of Texas Land Commissioner in 2016, a surprisingly powerful position in the Lone Star State. The younger Mr. Bush — age 41, an attorney, father of two and combat veteran — won with a campaign motto promising “conservative values and real-world experience.”
That in mind, perhaps, Mr. Bush has taken up the cause of saving the Alamo, establishing a group called the “Alamo Guardians” to rally behind the fragile 19th century structure.
“The Alamo Project will finally provide the dignity and respect that our storied landmark deserves — preserving it so that generations of Texans to come are given the opportunity to learn from, honor, and remember the Alamo,” advises Mr. Bush.”
Next stop, some say, is a run for governor.
POLL DU JOUR
• 71 percent of Americans say political divisions in the U.S. are as great as they were during the Vietnam War era.
• 66 percent overall blame dysfunctional politics on “money in politics”; 56 percent blame “wealthy donors.”
• 56 percent blame “people with extreme views”; 51 percent blame President Trump.
• 49 percent blame the news media; 38 percent blame Republicans, 32 percent blame Democrats.
Source: A Washington Post/University of Maryland poll of 1,663 U.S. adults conducted Sept. 27-Oct. 5 and released Saturday.
• Murmurs and asides to jharper@washingtontimes.com
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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